The wind blew hard today and the oak was further denuded. But it hardly shows any more there are so few leaves.
The little oak is nearly as bare as the big one although it kept its leaves for a good 4 weeks after the big one started showing signs of colour turning and leaf-fall.
As well as the two trees, I've been photographing the leaves on a branch that hangs down low and has a convenient twig to grab it by. You can see it to the right of the title picture as it was back in October. Below is how it looks today.
Today is advent Sunday the start of the church's year. Perhaps the first day the tree is really bare of its leaves is a good point to start the year.
Finally a couple of pictures. One shows the depth of the leaf litter. Jeanie's boot is about 4 inches into the leaves. It is under this warm blanket that most of the action will take place over the next few months. Bacteria, and fungus, and insects will break this down overwinter while the eggs of gall wasps and the few acorns that there were wait for the spring.
The other photo shows new straight growth from the underneath of on an old broken branch. This, Hugh and Brian our tree panjandrums, tell us, is a sure sign of a healthy tree.
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